The 5 Most Common Social Media Myths

Everyday, I have at least one person tell me why they will never get involved in Social Media for their business. I can usually deliver a compelling enough argument to change their mind, but I am still continually shocked to hear what some people think Social Media is and how terribly wrong they are. Here are the 5 most common myths I come across in day-to-day business.

1. Social Media is for telling everyone about our daily routine, filling them in on the most mundane aspects of our lives. This is just so not true. I had one person tell me today, and I quote, “I couldn’t care less about what someone had for breakfast”. Of course you couldn’t care less, and I can’t remember the last time a single Facebook or Twitter friend filled me in on what they ate for breakfast. In fact, even though I have a foodie blog and lots of foodie friends, I don’t think I have ever once been told on Facebook or Twitter what someone had for breakfast. I have seen plenty of links to fantastic breakfast recipes, products and places to eat breakfast. I have read countless articles about breakfast and how it can affect your entire day, how to eat an efficient breakfast or how to squeeze breakfast in even in the busiest of routines. But not once have I ever had to read what someone had for breakfast. What most people who haven’t tried social media don’t get, is that the vast majority of social media is used for sharing content. Kind of like the news, except it’s consumer-driven, crowd-sourced. You also have complete control over what you put out there, and what you let in. You can block users who only post mundane events in their life, and you can choose to only share what relates to your business. It’s totally up to you. The bottom line is, however, that whether you’re there or not, someone is talking about you, I guarantee it. Which begs the question, do you want to know and possibly have control over what is being said about you or your brand?

2. Social Media is just another popularity contest. Sure, if you’re a 15 year old girl. But for a business, it’s about getting to know your customers, engaging with them, hearing them and improving your product and service to better suit your target market. It provides a platform with which you can create transparency with ease. It builds trust and brand loyalty and all of these things, eventually, turn into success and money.

3. I don’t think my target market is using Facebook or Twitter. Would you be surprised to know that the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is women over 55? Did you know that the age group with the most Twitter users is between 35 and 54? Even more shocking, did you know that just a couple of months ago, Facebook surpassed Google as the most visited web site in North America? Do you think SEO is necessary for your business’ online success? Then you must see the value in a Social Media campaign, too! These trends are not changing, they are getting more forceful. It is estimated that by the end of this year, Facebook will have 600 million users. That would make it the 3rd most populated nation in the World, if it were a Nation. That’s more people than the USA. That’s more people than Canada. The largest portion of whom are between 35 and 54. Still don’t think your target market is using Facebook?

4. I don’t have time to start another marketing campaign. Social Media is not a marketing campaign. It’s customer service, damage control, marketing and sales all rolled into one. In fact, I consider it a time saver. I can run my business almost entirely within the realm of social media. I can conduct customer service calls, chats and messages. I can sell my products and services. I can refute the misconceptions so many people have about what I do. I can develop trust, loyalty and awareness. AND I can market my company. But the absolute best part, is that once you get that ball rolling, your customers do the marketing for you. They suggest your page to their friends, they comment on your photos, share links on their walls, check in at your stores, and share good experiences with your brand. It is, by far, the easiest way to build a brand in today’s business world.

5. I get enough business from my Yellow Pages listing. While it is always great to be visible in as many places as your taret market is looking, Yellow Pages and other directory type services, have been on the decline for a long time now. With the emergence of Social Media and Mobile apps like AroundMe, unfortunately these once incredibly useful services are going to become obsolete. Relying on them at this stage in the game is a recipe for disaster.

I used to be an SEO (Search Engine Optimizer). When I started out, it was easy and extremely inexpensive to get a great SEO and see great results. As time went by, however, and more and more companies saw the value in it, it became more competitive, more expensive and results took a long time to see. Social Media is in it’s starting stages, like SEO was a few years back. Right now, it’s inexpensive, it’s relatively easy and it’s a whole lot of fun. But if you wait it out to see if it’s just a fad, when you finally do see the light, it’s going to be expensive and complicated.

It is unfortunate that so many people see Social Media in this light, because the fact is, it’s a revolution. It’s very much like the industrial revolution and if you don’t hop on the train now, you’re likely to miss out.

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